Signs take on many representations and uses. Some are permanent, and others are temporary. Usually the goal of a sign is to elicit a response from a viewer or to simply inform a viewer of the sign with the message printed thereon. Commercial signage is a form of advertising which attempts to inform a passer-by of a business or product that may be of interest. In these cases, the sign functions as a notice or invitation by a seller that the seller has merchandise for sale and for a potential purchaser to view the merchandise. The sign can be remote from the business or be positioned at the seller's place of business. In some cases, when the object to be sold is inconvenient or unable to be relocated to the site of the business, the signage is positioned at the site where the object to be sold is located. One such case of placing outdoor signage at the location of the object is for advertising parcels of commercial or residential real estate that are for sale.
Real estate agents in particular rely heavily on outdoor advertising to promote the sale of commercial and residential properties. One outdoor advertising display commonly used in the real estate industry is adapted to display a corrugated cardboard sign and includes a metal support structure shaped as an uppercase letter “H.” The lower legs of the H-shaped display are pushed into the ground on or near the property being advertised and the upper legs of the H-shaped display are used to support the corrugated sign. Another outdoor advertising display commonly used in the real estate industry is a vertically disposed wooden post. The lower portion of the vertically disposed wooden post is buried in the ground at a depth sufficient to support the post in an upright position. A shorter wooden beam extends horizontally from an upper end of the vertically disposed post, and a sign is coupled to, and hangs from, the horizontally disposed beam.
However, there are significant disadvantages to each of these mounts for signage. Some properties do not have exposed ground into which the sign support can be inserted. Also, the ground may be frozen in northern climates during the winter thereby preventing placing the supporting post or frame into the ground. The large supporting post requires a hole of substantial depth to support the remainder of the post, beam and sign. Further, the H-shaped display is close to the ground, as opposed to being at eye level, and as such is more difficult to see. Therefore, a temporary sign support is needed that is easily affixed to and removable from the property at a visible height, but yet will withstand placement for extended periods of time.